1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to the fields of retail sales and of hangers for suspending articles from a support structure. More particularly, the invention relates to indicators for use with a wire hook hangers.
2. Description of Related Art
In the area of retail garment sales, so-called Garment-On-Hanger (GOH) programs have become preferred by retailers. In a GOH program, garments are delivered to retail merchants already suspended from hangers, whereupon arrival at the retail location they may immediately be placed on display for sale. Formerly, retailers accomplished the task of placing garments on hangers with labor provided at their own expense.
In particular, retailers have specified particular hangers or hanger characteristics among their several merchandise suppliers in order to achieve a visually pleasing uniformity on their sales floors. To this end, standards as to hanger size, shape, performance characteristics, etc., are maintained, for example, by organizations such as the Voluntary Inter-industry Commerce Standards Association (VICS). One particular standardized hanger feature is extremely popular across several hanger models, namely a turnable wire hook mated to a plastic hanger.
Additionally, and interrelated to the promulgation of GOH programs, retailers and their customers desire to have the hanger itself display some indicia regarding the item carried upon it. Categories of indicia could include manufacturer, material and price, but most notably for garments, their size. Various means for accomplishing this have been developed, including those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,422, issued 23 Mar. 1999 to Marshall, et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,019,260 to Gouldson, the disclosures of both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes, and both of which are commonly assigned with the instant application, among others.
Popular among these are the type disclosed in the former patent mentioned to Marshall, i.e., a top-sizer indicator fitted atop the hook of a hanger. Its prominence in the retail clothing sales industry is attributable to its quick, easy and ready identification of some characteristic of the article hung from the hanger, generally its size. Others secure to the hanger adjacent the intersection of the hook and the hanger body to one side of the hook, appropriately called side-sizer tabs, or simply side-sizers; lower neck sizers or indications.
These heretofore known indicators, top or side, have had limitations. Generally, the hangers which were designed to support and hold top or side sizers were unitarily formed of an injection molded plastic. Despite the advantages of a plastic hanger, certain applications, and/or certain segments of the marketplace demand a metal hanger, or at least hanger having a metallic wire hanger hook. However, wire hanger hooks, as known in the art, have no provision to support a sizer, particularly a removable top sizer or side sizer.
Additionally, such metallic wire-hanger hooks may be prone to corrosion when exposed to humidity in the air, as occurs for example during shipment via ocean-going vessel, and/or when displayed for sale in humid climates. The wire-hanger hooks may be made of a corrosion-resistant metal, but this is costly. Alternately, a plating of corrosion-resistant metal may be applied to a less costly, corrosion-prone base metal, in order to protect the base metal from exposure. This solution has the drawback that when hung from a hard (e.g., metal) support, as in transit or on display, the corrosion-resistant plating may be scraped off, exposing the base metal and making corrosion more likely. Therefore, an improved solution is wanting.
Moreover, these indicators, both top sizers and side sizers, are typically of a size that can present a choking hazard to small children. Therefore, it is desirable for these indicators to be child-resistant, or resistant to removal by a small child.